Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) is embarking on a strategic initiative to raise approximately $100 million through a fully marketed equity offering on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). This move is a crucial part of GTCO’s broader strategy to strengthen its financial position, expand its international investor base, and position itself for sustained growth. The capital raised will primarily be used to bolster the capital base of its subsidiary, Guaranty Trust Bank Nigeria, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) increased minimum capital requirement of N500 billion for international commercial banks. This recapitalization will provide a solid foundation for the bank’s future expansion plans and ensure its continued stability and competitiveness in the Nigerian banking sector. Beyond meeting regulatory requirements, the funds will also fuel GTCO’s ambitious growth agenda, encompassing key areas such as expanding its loan portfolio, enhancing its IT infrastructure, broadening its branch network, and strategically acquiring businesses in asset management and pension fund administration.
The offering marks a significant shift in GTCO’s approach to its international listing. The company is transitioning from a Global Depositary Receipts (GDR) listing to a full listing of its ordinary shares on the LSE’s main market. This transition represents a pivotal step in GTCO’s evolution and reflects its commitment to enhancing its global presence and attracting a wider pool of international investors. The full listing is anticipated to significantly improve the liquidity of GTCO’s shares, making them more readily tradable and accessible to investors on a global scale. This increased liquidity will, in turn, contribute to greater price discovery and potentially enhance the overall value of the company’s shares. The full listing also boosts GTCO’s global visibility, placing it on a prominent platform alongside other leading international companies, further solidifying its reputation and attracting attention from institutional and individual investors worldwide.
The timeline for the offering and listing transition is well-defined. The book-building period, during which institutional investors express their interest and indicate the price and quantity of shares they wish to purchase, commenced on July 2, 2025, and is scheduled to conclude on July 3, 2025. Assuming a successful book-building process, admission and trading of GTCO’s ordinary shares on the LSE’s main market are expected to commence on July 9, 2025. The current GDR listing will be cancelled by July 31, 2025, finalizing the transition to the new listing structure. GTCO’s shares will be quoted in US dollars under the ticker symbol “GTHC” upon admission, with plans to eventually change the ticker to “GTCO” for consistency across exchanges. The shares will continue to be quoted and traded on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) in naira under the symbol “GTCO,” ensuring continued accessibility for domestic investors.
This strategic move is spearheaded by Segun Agbaje, the Group Chief Executive Officer of GTCO, who views it as a significant milestone in the company’s growth trajectory. He emphasizes that the transition to a full listing reinforces GTCO’s position as a forward-thinking African financial services institution and builds upon its tradition of innovation and value creation for shareholders, customers, and stakeholders. The offering is not merely a capital-raising exercise; it is a strategic initiative to strengthen GTCO’s foundation for long-term growth and expansion. By bolstering its capital base, enhancing its global visibility, and attracting international investors, GTCO is positioning itself to capitalize on opportunities in the evolving financial landscape and to continue delivering exceptional value to its stakeholders.
Beyond the immediate benefits of the offering, the transition to a full listing on the LSE is expected to facilitate future capital raising endeavors. By establishing a direct link to the international capital markets, GTCO gains access to a larger pool of potential investors and enhances its ability to secure funding for future growth initiatives. This enhanced access to capital markets provides GTCO with greater financial flexibility and allows it to pursue strategic opportunities as they arise. The increased global visibility and enhanced liquidity resulting from the full listing are expected to create a virtuous cycle, attracting more investors and further strengthening GTCO’s access to capital. This strategic move is expected to pay dividends in the long term, enabling GTCO to pursue its growth ambitions and further solidify its position as a leading financial institution in Africa.
The company’s recent financial performance underscores its strong fundamentals and justifies its ambitious growth plans. In the first quarter of 2025, GTCO reported a significant increase in profit after tax, rising by 61 percent year-on-year to N258 billion, excluding fair value gains. This impressive performance translates to a return on average equity of 36.3 percent, demonstrating the company’s efficiency in generating returns for its shareholders. The company’s loan book grew by 15.5 percent to N3.2 trillion, while customer deposits rose by 8.6 percent to N11.3 trillion, indicating healthy growth in its core banking operations. Furthermore, GTCO’s asset quality improved, with the non-performing loan ratio declining to 4.5 percent and the loan coverage ratio strengthening to 146.9 percent. These positive financial indicators, coupled with its strategic focus on disciplined execution, customer service excellence, and shareholder value creation, position GTCO for continued success as it embarks on this new phase of growth and expansion. With Citigroup Global Markets Limited acting as the sole global coordinator and bookrunner for the offering, GTCO is leveraging the expertise of a leading financial institution to ensure the smooth execution of this transformative transaction. The combination of strong financial performance, strategic vision, and expert guidance positions GTCO to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the global capital markets and achieve its ambitious growth objectives.
